According to the New York Post, a prosecutor in Wisconsin, Hannah Dugan, has pleaded not guilty to federal claims that accuse her of aiding an undocumented immigrant from Wisconsin to avoid being detained by ICE agents. The offenses include obstructing the flow of justice and hiding a man to thwart their identification and arrest. Authorities claim that Dugan and his lawyer escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out of her court on April 18 by using a private jury exit to obstruct ICE agents who were waiting to detain him.
Dugan is seen speaking to provincial officials who were reportedly present to assault Flores-Ruiz on a surveillance video that was released of the event.
The ICE providers are seen entering a doorway after Judge Dugan directed them through a door, according to The Post. According to the prosecution, Dugan appears to have tried to divert the agents ‘ focus as they arrested Flores-Ruiz. Flores-Ruiz and his attorney leave a typically reserved exit immediately after the ICE brokers leave, as seen in the video. The video shows a national agent observing Flores-Ruiz as he enters and then leaves the court. Eventually, Flores-Ruiz can be seen running north for about a block before being apprehended by ICE brokers.
Milwaukee County
Dugan, a Milwaukee County Circuit Judge, was detained by the FBI on April 25 and the Wisconsin Supreme Court has since given her a temporary suspension from her administrative tasks. Her defense contends that the federal government’s intervention in a position court violated state sovereignty and that she is immune from prosecution for her actions in her formal power as a judge. Her constitutional team wants the charges dropped, calling the prosecution extraordinary and constitutional.
Major public interest and political unrest have been sparked by the case. Demonstrators are gathering outside the Milwaukee federal court to help Dugan in opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices. The trial has been criticized by Democratic politicians and legal professionals as an assault on criminal independence, while the Trump presidency has argued that no one is above the law.
Dugan’s test is reportedly set to start on July 21.
